[PROJECT] COINBUNKER - An ultra-secure, apocalypse-safe storage for wallets

[Freefallr]

Dear Bitcoin community,

First of all: hello to everyone! I'm new to this forum although I have read a lot here in the past months. I'm happy being a part of the Bitcoin movement and being a member of this forum is a part of this movement too. But let's talk about business now:


I am planning to create a new Bitcoin service called CoinBunker - a service where you get the possibility to store your bitcoin wallets in an ultra-secure environment.

Problem: Many storage devices like CDs or USB sticks have limited lifetime. A USB stick for example has an average of 8 years of lifetime, an external HDD even has only 5 years of average lifetime. Also, they can get destroyed very fast by a natural disaster, by accident, etc.

Solution: With CoinBunker, your wallet files are stored in an ultra-secure environment. Your files will be stored on special discs which have a life span of up to 1000 years. Your data is egraved in stone and endures exposure in heat, humidity and light. Also, your data is stored redundant. Furthermore, these discs are stored in a secret bunker which was built between 1943 and 1945 by the Nazis as a weapon production facility. The bunker has extremely strong sacurity precaution (video cameras, security guards, extremely limited number of people with access authorization, etc.) and lies 250 meters under the ground. This bunker also stores databases from local banks and extremely sensible data from big companies.

Pricing: My goal is to not exceed a price tag of 30$ per year. Payment methods: BTC, LTC, PayPal, Credit Card, SEPA Bank Transfer.


Now, I have a question to you guys. I have strong connections to the company that owns and maintains the bunker and I also have the possibility to burn files on these special discs (for the interested: The disc is composed of chemically stable and heat-resistant materials that are not used in any other DVD or optical disc. Data is engraved into the disc by physically altering the recording layer and creating permanent pits or voids in the disc, preserving your files nearly forever.) So the realisation of this project is definitely not a problem.
The real problem is: Is there a market for my service? I would start an Indiegogo campaign (not Kickstarter because I'm not from US/UK) to collect money for starting the service. I don't need a lot - I just want to have enough to pay the space in the bunker for the first year, the discs and other things like web hosting and cost of registering a company. I just want to know if there are people here that would use such a service. If there is enough demand I would definitely start it.

So, what do you think? Constructive criticism, thoughts, ideas, etc. are greatly appreciated!

[ThinkI]

I think there is a need for something like this. The problem is it is not very convenient.
For Proof of Work algorithms you could lock a wallet away and use a separate one for your daily business.
How would you make a withdrawal?
How often could you withdraw?
How would you prove it was yours if someone robbed the place?
I assume you are storing the wallets in encrypted form. How are you protecting the encryption keys?

For Proof of Stake algorithms it would be counter productive.
The coins in your wallet are your stake and any new coins received for forging are proportional to the stake (as I understand it).
So if you lock your wallet away you loose out on the forging of new coins.

Having said that there is a clear need for something that will calm some users nerves. Presumably the ones with more then 100 BTC. How many of them are there?

[Freefallr]

Thanks for your critics! My service would be more like a wallet backup service. You still have your wallet on your PC where you do your payments, speculations, etc. So this is more like an ultra-safe wallet backup than a cloud wallet or something similar.

To answer your questions: Every wallet file (or text file with private key in it or whatever the final solution will look like) has to be encrypted by a strong password, so that even if someone would manage to find out that there are Bitcoins stored in the bunker (very unlikely) AND if someone would pass all the security barriers (like video cameras, security guards, multiple steel doors that are locked, etc., which is extremely unlikely), he couldn't do anything with the files. Also, I plan to contact another two companies that do the similar thing (ultra-secure bunker place rentals / IT bunker solutions) to not only have the files redundant in one bunker, but also have them redunant in more bunkers. However, I would need to contact and meet them to ensure maximum safety. I have done this with the current bunker I know, I also have a few personal contacts to this company.

[ThinkI]

You still have your wallet on your PC where you do your payments, speculations, etc. So this is more like an ultra-safe wallet backup than a cloud wallet or something similar.

So the advantage to me is that I do not have to worry if my computer fails, gets stolen (assuming I encrypted my wallet).
How often could I backup? I think the ease of doing the backup is going to define your market.

I would still have the fear of someone hacking my machine and just transferring the coins away though. I could, however, take the orriginal option and store the coins in a separate wallet if I wanted.
How many wallets can I store?

if someone would manage to find out that there are Bitcoins stored in the bunker (very unlikely) AND if someone would pass all the security barriers (like video cameras, security guards, multiple steel doors that are locked, etc., which is extremely unlikely), he couldn't do anything with the files.

I would be more concern with an attack from within. You can make it very hard to get into a place, however, if there are employees inside then there are already people inside that can do some damage of theft.

[kabal]

I think the idea has potential. I'm not sure I would use it though. I prefer to manage my own wallets and am kind of paranoid with trusting another service to hold them. Also, even if I used such a service, I would still do manual backups just to be safe. So I don't think this would be very useful for me.

[ThinkI]

I'm not sure I would use it though. I prefer to manage my own wallets and am kind of paranoid with trusting another service to hold them. Also, even if I used such a service, I would still do manual backups just to be safe. So I don't think this would be very useful for me.

True Kabal, however, there are a group of people out there that use such services to store their wealth. There are also people with less technical knowledge than you who would like to outsource the problem of security as much as possible.

I think there is a need for the service, the question is how much and who?

We should launch a new coin, for buying secure storage with, and see how the service is priced by the market

[ThinkI]

You might want to try https://cryptostocks.com/ for funding. It would help with the marketing as well since the people who might use the service are some of the people that provide the money.

[Freefallr]

Hey guys, tons of thanks for the feedback - this helps me a lot!

So the advantage to me is that I do not have to worry if my computer fails, gets stolen (assuming I encrypted my wallet).
How often could I backup? I think the ease of doing the backup is going to define your market.
I would still have the fear of someone hacking my machine and just transferring the coins away though. I could, however, take the orriginal option and store the coins in a separate wallet if I wanted.
How many wallets can I store?

Exactly. It's not something like a cloud wallet, it's a wallet backup service. You can backup as many wallets as you want. Also, to ensure your Bitcoins are safe if your machine gets hacked, the safest thing to do is to have a strong wallet password, because then the hacker can't do anything with your wallet file.

I would be more concern with an attack from within. You can make it very hard to get into a place, however, if there are employees inside then there are already people inside that can do some damage of theft.

I think I forgot to say that: My idea was to put a safe in one of the bunker server rooms. I will be the only person who knows the number. The number will also be stored in a safe at my local bank. In case of death, an involved, trustworthy person, i.e. parents, brother, wife,.. will be allowed to open the bank safe and make further steps. Another idea was to rent a complete room in the bunker, but it's much more expensive and highly depends on how many people would use my service.

I think there is a need for the service, the question is how much and who?

This is the golden question I also posted my idea on Bitcoin/Litecoin Reddit subforums to get more feedback, but it was not recognized in the flood of new threads that arrive there every minute.

You might want to try https://cryptostocks.com/ for funding. It would help with the marketing as well since the people who might use the service are some of the people that provide the money.

Thank you for the link!